Phase Two: Implementation

The implementation phase is when the careful planning that has occurred in the previous phase is translated into action. It is during this phase that staff

members become aware of how appropriate their planning has been for their particular community and for themselves as implementers of the program. The implementation phase has tended to be ignored by researchers in the past, and yet it is critical to any assessment of the effectiveness of the program (Durlak,

1998b). It is not uncommon for the implementation of a program to be very different from what was originally planned (Durlak & Ferrari, 1998).

As previously mentioned, I joined the CFK evaluation team, as a research assistant, at the commencement of the implementation phase. As part of the evaluation data collection, I conducted interviews with advisory committee members, attended six evaluation meetings, five advisory committee meetings and the official program launch. This data was used to provide additional information regarding the implementation of CFK.

Approximately six months after I joined the CFK evaluation team, I received ethics approval for this research. Data collection continued over the remaining 24 months of the implementation phase of the CFK intervention. Evaluation meetings were held on a monthly basis and participant observations were recorded during each of these meetings. In addition to this I attended

scheduled reflective meetings, working party meetings, official program launches and a number of informal gatherings where participant observations were

documented.

Semi-structured interviews were also conducted throughout the implementation phase with intervention staff, intervention managers, key

intervention stakeholders, community members and volunteers. These interviews were designed to explore the multiple perspectives of the CFK intervention and varied in length from 20 minutes to one hour. Interviews were loosely based on themes emerging from the participant’s input into a framework of best practice (see following section), however participants were also given the opportunity to explore other issues the perceived as relevant. All interviews were transcribed.

The advisory committee, which commenced alongside the planning of the program, was an important component of the CFK intervention during the planning and implementation phases. It was important for the evaluation and this study to explore the CFK intervention from the many different perspectives of those involved with the program through the advisory committee. When the advisory committee had been operating for a period of 12 months, semi-

structured interviews (see Appendix A for interview questions) were conducted with nine advisory committee members including: program staff; program managers; community members; and volunteers, as part of the evaluation of the CFK intervention. These interviews were approximately 30 minutes in length, were audio taped and conducted either face to face or over the telephone, and were an important component of the data analyzed for this research.

3.4.2.1 Development of a Framework of Best Practice for Implementation of Community Interventions

Before the research questions could be answered, a mutual understanding of what constituted effective program implementation was established. A considerable amount of literature was available that outlined the important features of effective prevention programs. However, the principles were primarily theoretical and their focus was on the development and outcomes of programs with very little attention given to implementation (Durlak, 1998b). An emphasis of this thesis was to increase understanding of implementation from the perspective of program implementers. With this in mind, a set of guiding

principles for effective implementation was developed from the literature, to facilitate meaningful discussion with intervention staff and managers.

A detailed review of the theoretical and research literature revealed a number of principles for effective implementation of prevention and promotion programs. These principles were arranged into themes. Participants were given a copy of the review (Appendix B) and a focus group discussion took place immediately after a monthly evaluation meeting. Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions as the researcher reviewed each point. They were asked to take the review with them and to think about it in relation to their own experiences of implementation. They were also informed that they would be interviewed in the coming months regarding this review.

During the following two months interviews were conducted to gather feedback on the principles for successful program implementation, as well as information about their own implementation experiences. Participants were asked about their previous experience with implementing community-based programs and the factors they considered inhibited or enhanced implementation. They were also asked to comment on the principles found in the literature review and any additions or subtractions they believed necessary.

Interviews were between 30 minutes and one hour in length, were

conducted either face to face or over the phone and were audio taped. The tapes were transcribed. The interview data were then analyzed to identify themes, and a preliminary set of guiding principles for best implementation practice was developed. A focus group session was held at the completion of the interviews to discuss these principles, and develop a finalized set of principles (Appendix C). These principles were then used to guide the interviews and participant

observations for the remainder of the implementation phase.

A staged approach was employed for implementation of CFK programs. Individual program components were implemented by full time or sessional part time staff and overseen by the program leader. Full time staff members were employed for the entire program period. Part time sessional staff however, were employed at various times throughout the program. Each staff member was interviewed periodically throughout the implementation phase of the program. Some staff members were interviewed on more than one occasion as they became responsible for more than one program component. The semi-structured interviews were approximately 45-90 minutes in length, were conducted face to face and audio taped. The interview questions were based on the principles of effective implementation that had been developed collaboratively with program staff and managers earlier in the implementation phase. Staff members were asked how applicable the principles were to the implementation of the project/s they were coordinating.

One of CFK’s’ stakeholder groups was the volunteers. It was considered important that their perceptions of program implementation be gathered as part of the data collection. Interviews with a sample of four CFK volunteers were

were not asked directly about the principles of effective implementation, but about elements of the principles that were relevant to them.